Payback
by rottieluv77
Summary: It had been a month since Atlantis was found, and life was going great. But when a member of the team goes missing, what will the treasure team do? Will they be able to save the team member?
1. Prologue

**Hi guys! Here's another story for you guys to read :3 This is the one that I mentioned in the author's notes in the Mystery of the Challenger. I will have author's notes for this one to explain why this one was necessary. But for now, read on and enjoy!(:**

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**Payback**

**Prologue**

On a quiet Saturday evening, I was relaxing in the living room with the dogs and Riley, while Chloe straightened her hair for church the next day. Suddenly, I heard my daughter calling me, and I got up and headed to her bathroom; expecting to need to help her with something. This was not the case.

"What is it Chloe?" I asked upon walking through the bathroom door.

"I was just thinking about the treasure stories you tell me, Mom," Chloe began. "And I always noticed that in your stories, you talk about my 'Aunt Hannah', but I've never heard about her except in occasional talk about her in your stories or to Aunt Abigail and Uncle Ben. Why haven't I met her? And why don't you talk about her anymore?"

I took a sharp breath and closed my eyes. This was a little bit of a difficult subject for me, and I had hoped Chloe wouldn't notice Hannah's absence in everyday talk and life. But I should have known she would have been too smart not to notice. And besides, it was about time she knew the story.

"So you want to know why you don't remember your Aunt Hannah?" I said hesitantly. When Chloe nodded, I took a deep breath and said, "Ok, here we go…"


	2. News Over Dinner

**Chapter 1: News Over Dinner**

It had been a month since we had found Atlantis. By this point, everything had gone back to normal. We had all gotten our finder's fee. Abigail and I were back in work. Riley had again taken up babysitting Chloe all day, with Ben coming over to help when he didn't have lectures to do; as we found out the previous month that apparently Riley couldn't handle the job watching a two year old on his own. Though things never truly calm down when you're a world famous treasure hunter, things had died down back to normal at this point.

That is, until Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Riley and I were going out to eat with Ben and Abigail. I had gotten home, changed from my work clothes, got Chloe ready, and Riley and I headed out to meet Ben and Abigail at the restaurant. Shortly after ordering our drinks, however, Ben got a call on his cell phone. Ben excuses himself, as he gets up from the table to go take the call; answering the phone on the way out of the restaurant. About ten minutes later, Ben comes and sits back down at the table. However, before he could explain what the call was about, a waitress came to take our order. Once we had placed our orders, Ben placed his napkin back in his lap before looking up at us.

"That was Sadusky," he stated.

"What did he want?" Abigail asked, knowing that calls from Sadusky weren't always a good thing.

"He called saying that they haven't found Ian since he and Liam parted ways," Ben began. "So Ian is still on the loose, and since it has been a month that he has been free, Sadusky is getting worried for our safety; as he doesn't trust Ian not to try to get revenge. So because of that, they have a few more places that they think he might be that they want to check out first; but if he's not their either, he'll have us go into hiding."

"Where?" Riley asked a little fearfully.

"Well actually, Riley," Ben began, "it would be at your in-laws' house. Sadusky thinks that would be a safe and comfortable place for us all to stay, as Ian has never come in contact with Avi's parents. And by the way, my parents, along with Hannah, will be joining us as well. He wants us, along with our families, safe from Ian. And he'll let us know by Thursday evening if we'll need to head down to Florida; so we'll all need to be packed and everything loaded up in our respective vehicles by Thursday afternoon. And we will have to drive down there."

"Do I need to alert my parents about this?" I asked.

"Yes," Ben replied, "along with my parents and Hannah."

"Alright," I began, "let me go call my parents, and bring them up to date about this, and then I'll call Hannah while you call your parents."

"Sounds like a plan," Ben replied. And with that, I headed outside to go call my parents. About fifteen minutes later, I came back to the table; letting everyone know that my parents are brought up to date. Though they weren't too happy as to the _reason_ that everyone would be staying at their house, they were happy with the idea _of_ everyone staying. Ben and I both headed back out of the restaurant to bring Ben's parents and Hannah up to date. Once that was taken care of, we headed back to our table just before our food was brought. Over dinner, we discussed the situation.

"Sadusky said that we weren't basically 'imprisoned' in the house," Ben began, "as he feels that just being in Florida is safe enough. So we can go to church, go out to eat, do tourist things, basically anything we want. Just so long as we're not stupid about it; like posting anything about it on a social networking site, or if we attract a lot of attention to ourselves, we leave." We all nodded.

"What about transportation?" Abigail questioned. "I know we have to drive, but to we all want to ride together, or separate?"

"Well obviously Hannah will have to be on her own," I began. "And since we have to bring the dogs, we can only fit ourselves and Chloe in our car. So what we could do, is Riley and I just have Chloe and the dogs with us, then you guys take your parents so they don't have to drive."

"Alright," Ben replied. "So do you think Abigail and I could finish packing a little early on Thursday, load everything in Abigail's car, and then drive over to my parents' house and load their stuff up, and then meet at your house until we get the final verdict?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" I replied. So with that, as we finished our meal and paid the check; we headed to our respective homes, going to pack for our undecided trip to Florida. Little did we know how much we would have in store over the following month.


	3. Road Trip!

**Chapter 2: Road Trip!**

Thursday rolled around pretty quickly; much too quickly for the ones in charge of packing. Thankfully, Sadusky had already informed my and Abigail's boss about the situation, and got us Thursday off in the process. So, because of this, we had all of Thursday to get the last minute packing done.

I had finally finished packing everything by later that afternoon. Upon me completing the packing, Riley helped me load everything into my SUV, which was a daunting task; considering we had our stuff, plus Chloe's and the dogs'. Luckily, we had it complete right before Ben and Abigail pulled up; with Ms. Emily and Mr. Patrick in tow. Once they arrived, we simply chatted while waiting anxiously for news from Sadusky.

Then, at around 7:30 that night, we got the call. Sadusky ordered us to head down to Florida. Without a second thought, I called Hannah, we loaded ourselves into our respective vehicles (with the dogs and Chloe joining Riley and I), and we headed out for the 12 hour drive to my parents' house.

As with any trip involving multiple people, children, and dogs; it took longer than expected. There were rest stops for both canine and human, along with stopping for food. However, while Riley and I (and even Ben and Abigail) were perfectly fine with fast food, Ben's parents were not. And since Riley and I couldn't eat at a restaurant because of the dogs, and we had to stick together so Ben wouldn't get lost; Riley and I would go through a drive thru and then drive to the nearest rest stop to eat and wait for everyone to meet us. This got confusing and annoying pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before Riley decided that he would teach Ben how to use a GPS when we got to my parents' house.

Finally, at around 1:00pm the following day, over five and a half hours after we were supposed to arrive, we _finally_ made it to my parents' house. They welcomed us with open arms, and upon showing everyone where they would be staying, helped unload both cars. We each took time to get our things settled; which was not an easy feat for Riley and I, as we had dog kennels, dog beds, and a small bed for Chloe to cram into my old bedroom (which luckily had been expanded in my absence). We still had one room open for Hannah when she got there; which we didn't expect to be until the next day. Once we finally had everything settled, we decided to take a nice long nap; planning to awake and plan many adventures during our stay in Florida.


	4. Home Sweet Home

**Here's a pretty long chapter for you guys! This one took me a while to write! So enjoy!(:**

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**Chapter 3: Home Sweet Home**

The day after arriving in Florida was a day jam packed full of fun things to do. As it was Saturday, we had nothing going on, so we just planned spending the day doing a few touristy things. That is, with the exception of Ms. Emily and Mr. Patrick, who decided that they had their own agenda. So we parted ways, left Chloe with my parents, and Ben and Abigail joined Riley and I with our plans.

On day one, I decided that it would be a good idea to give Ben and Abigail a tour of my childhood. Minus taking them to my old church (which we would visit the next day), I took them around to several places that played major roles in my childhood.

We started in my tiny little town that I lived in; Palatka. We had to stop by Wal-Mart, which was the social, food, clothing, and electronic headquarters of this town. When I was younger, you could not step foot in that store without running into people you knew; and when I brought Ben and Abigail, it was no exception. They got a couple of early and extra introductions to people I knew; and with a new lesson learned about small-town living, we headed to our next location.

We went ahead and drove by the middle school where I used to do gymnastics recitals, the high school I went to for my senior year, and then stopped by my first college; where I duel enrolled and got my business degree. We walked in and got to see a few of my previous professors and I introduced them to Ben, Abigail, and Riley. Luckily, my history professor wasn't there, or else we would have been there for _hours_ while she talked to Ben. Then we hopped in the car, and headed to what would be Ben's favorite place; Old Town St. Augustine.

On the way there, I made detours, pointing out places such as the movie theater that I went to, the first place I ever drove, and where we would watch fireworks on the Fourth of July. I pointed out some of the places I worked during outreaches that my church did while I was in youth, some of my favorite restaurants, and even where the corn maze would be during the fall. Man, it felt so good to be able to drive the same roads I drove some ten years prior. It felt good to be back home.

Finally we arrived in St. Augustine. We went and took a tour of the fort there; probably Ben's favorite thing ever. Then we just walked down St. George Street; a street lined with old buildings which were now filled with stores. With the historical charm and the endless supply of shopping, you could not have found a happier Abigail. It was like a kid in a candy store! And of course, I ran into more people I knew; as going to St. Augustine is the Palatka equivalent of "going out".

Once we were done exploring St. Augustine, we headed to Carrabba's for dinner, and then headed down to the beach for a little stroll; in which we just talked about the day, life in general, and other things we wanted to do during our stay in Florida.

"So," I began looking over at Ben and Abigail, "did you guys have a good day today?"

"Yes!" Abigail said. "It was really neat getting to see the town you came from, and meeting several of the people who have been a part of your life here. And I _loved_ St. Augustine and walking down that one street! That place had my two favorite things in life; history and shopping." We all laughed at that.

"What about you Ben?" I asked.

"I had a great day Avi," he replied. "Going and seeing that fort was just incredible, and I learned quite a lot about small town living. How can you run into that many people you know in just one day?"

"Small town living," I began. "you either hate it, or you love it." I said with a wink. Then I paused before I asked, "You guys up for one more thing before we head home?"

"Sure!" Ben, Abigail, and Riley all said at the same time. And with that, we hopped in the car and drove to one final destination for the day.

We stopped by the house before heading to this one last place; as I figured both Chloe and my dad would want to join us. This time, we all hopped in my dad's truck; with my Bloodhound, Sadie in tow, and my dad drove us to the Dairy Queen in Palatka. Now, this wasn't the best ice cream place I went to as a child. In fact, it wasn't the best ice cream place we had even passed today. However, this Dairy Queen holds a special place in my heart, as my dad and I would go there often, with the dogs, and get ice cream. And the dogs were always so excited for a ride, and it almost made me cry when Sadie still remembered what "Do you want to go for bye-byes in the truck?" meant. So we arrived at DQ, got ice cream, and chatted while eating our desserts in the truck. After a few minutes though, my dad went ahead and headed home. We had all finished our ice cream by the time we got home, so we threw our trash away and got ready for bed, as we would have church, and a very social day ahead of us.

* * *

The next morning was quite busy. With six people trying to get ready for church, plus having to take care of dogs, it was pretty hectic. However, we did manage to finish getting ready, and were out the door not just on time, but early enough for me to introduce Abigail and Ben to everyone.

We arrive at the church and walk in. No one knew we were visiting, so I knew this would be exciting. And I was anxious to introduce everyone to Ben and Abigail since, even though most of the people I would introduce them to were at my wedding, the vast majority of them would have only met Riley.

No less than two minutes after walking in did I hear someone yell my name. I turn around to be greeted with a, "Hey beautiful!" from my best friend from Florida, Sabrina. I hugged her, only to then be greeted by a "Hey Avi!" from Sabrina's husband, Tucker.

"Hey you guys!" I greeted in return, giving Tucker a high five. Riley walked over for his hand shake and hug too.

"Hey Sabrina!" Abigail greeted as she went to hug Sabrina.

"What's up, Ben?" Tucker said while shaking Ben's hand.

"How have you guys been?" Sabrina asked.

"Busy!" we all responded in unison.

"Things have just calmed down since finding Atlantis!" I stated.

"Oh yeah!" Tucker said. "I forgot about Atlantis! How was that hunt?"

"A little more adventurous and dangerous," Ben began, "but just as rewarding!"

Before anyone could respond, a little voice began to yell, "Aunt Sabrina! Uncle Tucker!" as little Chloe ran up to the couple with arms stretched wide. Tucker scooped her up and threw her up in the air, then caught her and let her go to Sabrina, who held her close.

"How are you little miss?" Sabrina asked.

"Great!" Chloe said while throwing her hands in the air. We giggled as Sabrina set Chloe down to go with Riley to get signed in for the nursery. We went and found seats with Tucker and Sabrina, while I continued to lead Ben, Abigail, and now Riley around the church. I introduced them to the youth pastor I had when I was a teenager (who still was the youth pastor). I found all my friends, mentors, and favorite youth leaders. I found my piano teacher, the worship leader, and my godparents. I finally, before the service started, introduced Ben and Abigail to the senior pastor, Pastor Ted, and his wife, Ms. Angie. They were super excited to have Ben and Abigail at the church, and wanted to take us all (including my parents) out to lunch at my family's favorite restaurant, Chili's. With that arranged, we went to our seats just as praise and worship started.

Once service ends, my mom calls for a reservation at Chili's for everyone; which turned out to be a lot since all five of Pastor Ted and Ms. Angie's kids (now grown) wanted to come as well. We said good bye to everyone and headed on over to Chili's.

As usual, we had a table waiting for us, thanks my family's favorite waiter, Cody. As he waited on us when I still lived in Florida, he greeted me and Riley, and we chatted some after getting drinks. Over our lunch, Ben, Abigail, Riley, and I talked with Pastor Ted and his family. We talked about everything, to how we all met, to our treasure hunts, mine and Riley's faith, and life in general. After lunch, we headed home to just relax and hang out with the family. For the rest of the day, we just watched TV together, played the Wii, and overall, just enjoyed each other's company.

* * *

The next day was my parent's 40th anniversary, and because of that, we mostly just spent the day with them. We began the day with breakfast for both of them (or lunch in my dad's case. After breakfast, we cleaned the kitchen for them. Then we sent my mom off to go shopping with some of her friends, while my dad worked (from home). While they were busy, Abigail and I cleaned the house, while Ben and Riley did the outdoor work. We had the house spick and span (both inside and out) for my parents long before it was time for dinner. So we relaxed until it was time to go meet my mom over at a restaurant in St. Augustine.

We left at around 4:30; as our reservation was at 5:30. We got there, and sat down at our table. We had also met up with my godparents with their son, Layton (who fortunately for Riley, is also very technically minded). Over dinner, we just chatted as usual, talking about adventures, life, and everything in between.

We arrived home around 9 that night, after spending some time in Downtown St. Augustine. We all changed into our pajamas and again, spent time together in the living room, eating popcorn and watching America's Funniest Home Videos, Wipeout, and comedian DVD's. By midnight, everyone had trickled out and headed to bed, ready for a social day come morning.

* * *

The next morning, Tuesday, we all decided to just spend the day with friends. We started off the day with meeting up at the playground with Tucker and Sabrina; letting Chloe (and then any adult that felt like a child) play while the rest of us chatted. Chloe played for a good three hours straight before her energy tank went on empty, so at around noon, we all, including Tucker and Sabrina, headed over to a once favorite café of mine for lunch; where one friend who I didn't get to see at church worked.

Luckily, we came in at a time when the café wasn't very busy. Despite having seven people, we were able to get a table in the small café without any problem. Once we got seated, our waitress came over to take our order. I smiled as the waitress, Brittany, was a friend and mentor of mine when I was living in Florida.

She got her notepad and pen out without really looking at us, and said, "Good afternoon! What could I get you guys to drink?" She looked up after she found an unused piece of paper and looked straight at me. Her eyes widened as she said, "Oh my gosh! Aviana!" She set her pad and pen down on the table and ran around to the other side to hug me. She turned and greeted Tucker and Sabrina, along with Riley. Then she wrinkled her brow and asked pointing at Ben and Abigail, "Who are those two?"

"Oh, they're mine and Riley's best friends up in Maryland," I replied. I pointed at Abigail and said, "Abigail is my coworker at the Library of Congress. And Ben," I pointed at Ben, "was Riley's best friend before I met him."

"Oh cool!" Brittany replied going back around to the other side of the table to grab her pad and pen.

"They also are part of our treasure hunting team," Riley commented.

Brittany looked up and then looked toward Ben and studied him. Then she said, "You're Ben Gates?" When Ben nodded, Brittany, grinning from ear to ear, shook his hand, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." Holding up her pen and paper, Brittany then said, "Now are we ready to order?"

Lunch was great. As the café wasn't that busy, we were able to talk to Brittany some while she was making her rounds. The food was good as usual, and we paid for our food and headed out.

We got home, and as it had gotten pretty hot outside (imagine that in Florida), we decided to go swimming. Chloe was fired up after lunch, so she also joined us with her floaties. We swam for a good three hours before Chloe got tired out again, so we got out and changed into dry clothes. I set Chloe down for a nap as we relaxed until dinner; as after dinner, we were going on a bike ride with my parents and some friends of theirs (with their children of course).

After dinner, we hopped on our bikes and rode over to my godparents' house; where we would always meet for bike rides. Everyone was there when we arrived, so we headed out almost as soon as we got there. Over the next eight miles, we all ended up sticking with a small group and chatting. Ben and Riley stuck with all the younger guys, while Abigail and I hung with the younger women, and my parents hung with all the older people; who were the parents or grandparents of the others. As usual, we had a great time hanging out with everyone.

We arrived back shortly before nightfall. We all took showers and then hung out in the living room with my parents; watching TV and talking. We were expecting a nice, relaxing evening together, when a shrill ring from Ben's cell phone ruined all that.

"Hello?" Ben answered as he headed upstairs to take the call. We paused what we were watching, and muttered nervously to each other as we waited for Ben to come back down. He finally did come down after ten minutes, and we looked expectedly at him as he took a breath and began to explain.

"That was Sadusky," Ben began. He pointed to Abigail, Riley and I and said, "You three and I are going to be picked up by some of the FBI agents Sadusky stationed here and taken to the airport. We're going to Tennessee."

"Why?" I asked nervously.

"A police officer serviced someone at a Tennessee toll road that fit Ian's description." Ben replied. "When Ian drove away, the officer got his license plate number and looked it up. Sure enough, it was Ian who was driving the vehicle, and he told the officer that he was heading back to D.C."

"So why are we going up there?" Riley asked. "Wouldn't they just station FBI agents in D.C. to catch Ian when he gets there?"

"Sadusky was worried as to why Ian was there," Ben began, "and he became even more concerned when he found out that Hannah hadn't made it here yet. He wants to check out her house and see if everything is ok."

"Ok," I replied shakily. "I guess we should start packing then."

Within an hour, we were packed and, true to Sadusky's word, we had a ride to the airport. Sadusky was there waiting for us, and we hopped on board the FBI jet. We arrived in Nashville at around midnight, and got to Cleveland by 2:30am. We went ahead and got a hotel in Cleveland, and planned to go check out Hannah's house in the morning.


	5. That Wednesday

**Chapter 4: That Wednesday**

The next morning at around nine, we headed out towards Hannah's house. The hotel we were at was only about fifteen minutes away from her house, so it didn't take us long to get there. As we pulled up her driveway, we could see nothing peculiar. The house looked dark and empty from the outside; however, when looking into the garage window, you could see her car still in there. That wasn't a good sign.

I looked over at Sadusky, my eyes pleading to go ahead inside and check for Hannah. He nodded, and before he could do anything else, I began running toward the door. I heard yelling behind me, but I didn't care. Something major had happened to my best friend, and I was going to find out what.

I got up to the door when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Babe," came the gentle whisper of my husband, "we need to let the agents go in first to make sure it's safe. Then we can go in and see what's going on. Ok?"

I looked back up at Riley. I knew he was right, but I was too scared and stubborn to admit it to him. I leaned on the door handle, and to my surprise, the unlocked door swung open. Yet another red flag. Riley pulled me out of the way as FBI agents darted in, weapons at the ready. When I heard Sadusky call, "Clear!" I ran in without a second thought.

"Hannah!" I screamed through the house. My heart sped up when I didn't hear a response, and I began to dart for the stairs leading upstairs to where her bedroom was. My stomach began to knot up as I continued racing up the stairs. Once on the second floor, I ran down the hall to where I knew her bedroom was. I got to the end of the hall, and looked into her bedroom. What I saw caused me to stop dead in the bedroom doorway.

In front of me was an extremely pale and unmoving form of Hannah, laying sprawled out on the floor. What scared me the most though, was the blood-stained carpet around her, and the hole in her chest. I cautiously walked over and knelt beside her. I gently smoothed her hair with my hand, as I looked her over. Her eyes were half open, being completely blank and empty, with a cold stare replacing the cheerful, yet mischievous sparkle she had always held. Trembling now, I pressed my fingers down on her throat to check for a pulse, her skin like ice to the touch. No matter how hard I pressed down on her neck, there was never that thump against my fingers, and I hung my head and began to sob, the realization smacking me in the chest.

Hannah was dead.

I grasped one of her hands as I ran my other hand through her hair. "I'm so sorry Hannah," I whispered as tears continued their way down my cheek. I never registered the footsteps getting closer, and I barely acknowledged the hand on my shoulder. I felt Riley wrap his arms around me, and kiss my cheek, and I held his hand with my free one. I still clutched Hannah's hand as I turned around and started sobbing into Riley's shoulder. I didn't even notice Abigail and Ben come in with Sadusky, and I barely heard them mention something about a note on the bed. Even when they told me it was for me, and put the note in my lap, I didn't respond to them. I just sat in Riley's lap and cried.

Ten minutes went by before I was able to calm myself down enough to look at the note (now notes) handed to me. On top was a farewell letter from Hannah. It was exactly how you would expect a farewell letter to be…except she didn't kill herself. She mentioned several times that she was going to be murdered. But who would have killed her? And how would she have known?

I picked up the second note and barely got two sentences into it before I knew exactly who killed her. "Ian," I growled under my breath as I continued reading; ignoring the questions everyone asked above me. As I read through the note, Ian answered all the questions I had; which was slightly relieving. She had known that Ian was going to kill her because Ian had trapped her inside of her own home, and had killed her the day before we found her. According to Ian, he had basically lived in her home for a few days before he felt would be a good time to kill her. She didn't just run away because he threatened to kill the rest of us if she ran off. He claimed to have given her a quick, painless death, which brought comfort in the fact that she didn't suffer. But when I thought about the mental torture Hannah must have gone through; knowing that she would die or sentence us to death, caused my eyes to water.

"Ian's a jerk," I said through teary eyes as I reached toward Hannah's body and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "A heartless, self-centered jerk." Riley proceeded to wrap his arms even tighter around me, as I began to cry again. It wasn't long before ended up falling asleep in his arms, and he carried me to one of the guest bedrooms and tucked me in. It wasn't long before Riley joined me, and my subconscious snuggled my way into his arms again, and he wrapped them protectively around me. It had been a long day.


	6. Aftermath

**Chapter 5: Aftermath**

The next morning, I awoke in complete disorientation. I wasn't in my bed, nor my room, nor my house. I wasn't even in my pajamas. Riley was lying next to me, but that was the only thing normal. I pressed myself against Riley, finding some comfort in my confusion; while my mind tried to remember what was going on.

"Good morning starshine," Riley smiled tiredly as he smoothed my hair with his hand and kissed my forehead. I laid my head on his chest, and he gently squeezed me to where I could feel his heartbeat. "You doing ok?" he finally asked.

"Riley," I said worriedly, "what's going on? Where are we?"

Riley sighed, "Do you remember yesterday at all?" When I shook my head, he answered my first question, "We're in Hannah's house."

Then it clicked. We were in her house because she never showed up at my parents' house. She never showed up, because Ian killed her. And she was dead; Hannah was dead.

"Riley, what are we going to do with her…" I trailed off before I said the last word. He understood, and wiped my tears away.

"Ben, Abigail, and Sadusky are taking care of everything," Riley began. "They've already taken her to the nearest funeral home, and they said they would take care of the funeral arrangements. However, you do need to tell them what Hannah would have wanted; and where she would've wanted to be buried and stuff." He pulled my chin up so I was looking at him and he asked, "Do you think you can do that?" I nodded, and Riley pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. He knew how hard this was going to be for me, and he was making sure that I knew he would be there for throughout all of it.

Shortly thereafter, I heard Riley say, "Hey, what's up?" I looked up and saw Ben standing in our doorway.

"Well," Ben began, "the FBI Sadusky left in D.C. found Ian, and he is now again in prison, facing a lifetime sentence." I breathed a sigh of relief. Justice would be served.

"Thanks for telling us Ben," Riley said as Ben walked back downstairs. I grabbed Riley's hand as I again fought for composure, and he rubbed my back in comfort. I knew this was going to be a very hard and rough week ahead.

* * *

Over the next three days, I lead all the funeral plans. I knew Hannah wouldn't want a huge funeral, so we only invited the people that were the closest to her. As she helped find three of the greatest treasures known to mankind, she would be given an honored ceremony. Although she would have been able to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, I knew she would want to be buried in Tennessee. So, we had her buried in the national cemetery in Nashville.

The funeral itself took place a week after her death; which happened to be a Tuesday. And although many funeral ceremonies take place on a weekend, we decided to have it later to give time for her out-of-state friends and family to get to Tennessee. The ceremony itself was fairly short, and immediately afterward was the burial. And as it was an honored ceremony, she was buried with an American flag wrapped around her coffin. I could honestly say it was one of the most moving ceremonies I had ever seen.

We didn't stay in Tennessee long after Hannah's funeral. However, every day until we left, I would go over to Hannah's grave. I would sit and talk to her like she could hear me; even though I knew that there was a good chance she couldn't. I blamed myself for allowing her to be murdered, and I told her how sorry I was each and every time I visited her grave. And Riley would always wait for me out in the parking lot, ready to hold me and comfort me before we drove home.


	7. Rehabilitation

**Chapter 6: Rehabilitation**

The Friday following the funeral, we headed back down to Florida. As Ian was currently in prison now, safety wasn't the reason we returned to Florida. Instead, it was because I needed to be in the comfort of my childhood home and town in the beginning of this grieving process. Though I wanted Riley with me, I offered to Ben and Abigail that they could return home. However, they refused; saying that they were going to stay as long as I needed to. I was grateful for that.

Riley never left my side during the time I was home. We didn't go anywhere besides church, so he was literally less than five feet away from me at all times. He knew I was grieving, but I could tell he knew that there was something else causing my depression. He didn't know what, but he was determined to stay by my side no matter what; hoping that comfort would alleviate the pain I felt. And though his comfort brought relief to the grief, it could never ever begin to help the burden of guilt I carried on my shoulders. I felt that no one could ever fix that pain and sorrow.

* * *

Then one day, that all changed. I was sitting in my room, as per usual, and Riley had gone into the living room to watch TV. He had come back inside briefly, and kissed my cheek on the way back out, but otherwise, I didn't notice him as I continued to stare off and think.

After about a half an hour, Riley walked back in, book in hand, and sat down on the bed. "Hey," he began, "may I read something to you?"

"Sure," I replied as enthusiastically as I could manage. I always loved having people read to me, and Riley had never offered to do so before. So I was both excited to have him read to me, and curious as to what he was going to read to me.

That's when I noticed that the book he was holding was the Bible.

"Isaiah 54:4 says, 'Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth.'"

"Riley, I understand what you're trying to do," I started, "but-"

"No 'but's'," Riley interrupted. He had flipped over to Romans 8:1-2 before continuing, "'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.'" He looked over at me and said, "Babe, there is no reason to blame yourself. Even if there was something to blame yourself for-which there isn't-God has covered that. Isaiah 1:18 says, 'For though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow.'"

With my eyes watering and voice strained, I replied, "But I allowed my best friend to die! I let her be murdered senselessly!"

Wincing and sadness glazing over his eyes, Riley flipped some more pages before saying, "Then I want you to listen to this. 1 John 3:19-20 says, 'This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.'" He looked up at my tear filled eyes and said, "Avi, I know you blame yourself, but it's not your fault. And God knows that. He was there when she died. He knows you're innocent. And even if you weren't, and you did have fault in this, God already has forgiven you. He hasn't condemned you. In fact, John 3:17 states that, 'God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world'. And He's not going to condemn you; even if you were guilty of doing something."

"I-if it hadn't b-been for me," I began choked, "I-Ian wouldn't have killed her. S-she would still be a-alive. It's all my fault. How could God forgive that?"

Riley gently put his hand on my back, "You don't believe me, do you?"

I shook my head, "Riley, how could God forgive me for practically killing my best friend?"

A tear slipped out of Riley's eye, as he faced me and gently grabbed my shoulder, "Avi, God forgave the very people that murdered His own Son. Jesus asked that God would forgive them and He did. Not only did He forgive those men, He threw their sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness; and as far as the east is from the west. He forgives you Avi. You're no longer guilty. You are _free_."

I looked back up at him, tears streaming down my face. He pulled me close, my head resting on his chest. He prayed over me as I silently prayed for God's forgiveness; in both letting Hannah die and me not trusting that God would take my sins away. Then, holding hands, Riley and I prayed together that I would be able to forgive myself. In time, God did help me do that, and I would soon be able to use my lesson on forgiveness to teach others to forgive.

* * *

After almost a month of staying in Florida, I was finally able to go back home. Loading the dogs and Chloe up, we headed back toward Maryland; with Ben, Abigail, and his parents following behind us. After a half a day's drive, we made it back to my house. Ben, Abigail, Mr. Patrick, and Ms. Emily helped us unload our car, and then we said our goodbyes before they drove off. We got everything unpacked just after bedtime, and Riley and I put the dogs in their kennels, tucked Chloe in, and headed off to bed, an exhausting month and a half behind us.

I can't say it was easy to get over Hannah's death. I had lost a best friend. That's not easy to live with. But with God's help, I was able to pull through it. I was able to put it in the past. Though things would never be the same without her, I was able to move on, and look onto the things before me; and I knew it to be bright.


	8. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Wow," Chloe stated.

"I know," I said wiping a stray tear. "It was a really hard time to go through. She was my best friend at the time. But God had people in my life; like your dad, Aunt Abigail, and Uncle Ben, who stood by my side the whole time. I knew it would be hard doing things without your Aunt Hannah; especially treasure hunting. But all the things Hannah was to me, God even put someone to put in her place. No, this person never would be Hannah, but she became the person Hannah was to me. And that helped too."

"And God really was there for you the entire time?" Chloe questioned.

"Yes He was," I replied. "Though I didn't latch onto Him and trust in Him like I should, He held onto me and never let me go. If it weren't for Him, I wouldn't have made it through. But He stayed faithful, just as His Word says."

"Wow," Chloe stated again. "God's pretty awesome, isn't He?"

"He sure is, baby girl," I said, kissing her cheek and leaving her to finish straightening her hair. I walked back down stairs to find Riley about to put a movie on. I smiled as I saw what movie it was, and I joined him on the couch, cuddling with him as I relived the memories of that first fateful treasure hunt.


	9. Author's Note

**Well there you go guys! That was my story!**

**Now, I can't remember if I mentioned in any stories previously, but Hannah is a real person, and one of my friends in real life. Because of that, the reason I had to post that story is simply because, in real life, Hannah and I are no longer best friends. Yes, I'm still friends with her and will talk to her, but she's not close enough to me for me to keep her in my stories, you know what I mean? So I figured I would kill her off, as it would also set the stage for another story idea (that I will be writing next). I can say that a good portion of this story was _not_ easy to write, but I things would be harder if I kept her in the stories.**

**Now, as I will write a few stories that will "go back in time" so to speak, she will be where she's supposed to be in those. If I write about mine and Riley's wedding, she will be a bridesmaid in that. So she'll be in any places she should be in with stories that have events that occurred before her death. But she won't have nearly as much emphases on her being there.**

**Will someone replace Hannah in my stories? You'll have to wait and see. Yes, I have a couple friends I could put in her place, and I could even make up a character. But whether or not I will shall remain a mystery. Keep reading my stories though, and you shall find out(;**

**Well, until next time; God bless! :D**

**-rottieluv77**


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